The OECD’s Going for Growth report released this week is a good reminder of why Tony Abbott wants to be remembered as “the infrastructure Prime Minister”. The OECD argues addressing infrastructure service…

Victoria’s new government has promised to “tear up” the contracts for the controversial East-West Link project.
Courtney Biggs/AAP December 14 2014

Victoria’s public-private partnerships (PPPs) are a mess. Their democratic standing has never been lower. They have always trumpeted better value for money and more timely delivery, but with the contract…

Every time we turn on a tap, switch on a light or drive to the shops we are relying on the infrastructures that make our modern economy work. These infrastructures are being developed to meet new challenges…

Infrastructure projects are ripe for political point scoring. None more so than Private Public Partnerships (PPPs), which allow private companies to profit from key infrastructure. Yet political debate…

Some US bridges are currently living out their twilight years.
Bob JagendorfNovember 19 2014

There are about 600,000 bridges in the United States, and about one in four is classified as functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. This doesn’t mean they’re in danger of imminent collapse; they…

Heathrow’s refurbished Terminal 2 was unveiled to much fanfare earlier this year. Officially re-opened by the queen, the shiny new terminal even provided the studio for an episode of the BBC’s weekly Question…

The G20 infrastructure agenda cites an OECD prediction the global infrastructure gap will be worth US$70 trillion by 2030. It is predicting this gap will grow. Yet it’s difficult to assess the credibility…

Forget shirt-fronting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s most challenging task this week will be breaking an uncomfortable silence with Chinese President Xi Jinping. And he…

Victoria’s capacity to handle the millions of containers imported and exported through its ports affects the whole state.
AAP/Julian SmithNovember 3 2014

Victoria’s election debate about infrastructure is shaping up around large projects such as the East West Link and Airport Rail Link. But another infrastructure project could also be on the radar: the…

Immigrant faces from the early 1900s watch Ellis Island visitors pick their way through a crumbling hospital.
Aimee VonBokelOctober 23 2014

This fall, French street artist JR and American cinematographer Bradford Young each installed a series of portraits in crumbling New York buildings. The two projects were not coordinated, but together…

Traditional funding sources are becoming inadequate to meet public transport demands in Australian cities, despite the broad economic and social benefits public transport brings, such as cost savings associated…

We’ve all experienced the frustration of waiting for public transport, but would we pay more tax for improvements?
Purple Wyrm/FlickrOctober 19 2014

Although Australia’s tax-to-GDP ratio is low by international standards, no-one wants to discuss how we might pay for the improvements needed to public transport, and even less the need for taxation to…

Last week the IMF revised its 2014 global economic growth forecast down to 3.3% from the 3.7% expected six months ago, confirming that most economies around the world, Australia included, continue to underperform…

Infrastructure investment is failing to attract the funding it needs to support global growth. As of June 2014, the managed funds industry in Australia had just over $2.4 trillion dollars under management…

Tony Abbott has the support of business leaders, but will it last?
Nikki Short/AAPAugust 25 2014

In his victory speech on election night last September, prime minister Tony Abbott declared Australia was “under new management and … once more open for business”. There were, of course, specific promises…

When Australian prime minister Tony Abbott came into office last year his aim was to be remembered as the “infrastructure prime minister”. In the Coalition’s September 2013 policy to “Deliver the Infrastructure…

Confused? You will be if someone’s making mischief with them.
Julen ParraAugust 22 2014

The growing extent to which our day-to-day infrastructure is computer-controlled and internet-connected leaves it open to the possibility that malicious hackers could intercept data or take control of…